Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu

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Chapter 254


　The heroes and their companions have finally arrived.
　And so the battle in the city began.
　If I had not been in the position of a maid, I would have fled to my parents' house.

"——So, generally, everything went according to plan."

　Buried underground, the demon king lights up the darkened castle.
　As I served by his side, I could only be stunned by the unrealistic scene that took place before my eyes.

"A-Awawa... the castle has been buried in the ground..."
"I used earth-shifting magic to change the structure of the earth, the castle… and the buildings in the city, and place them underground. There’s no need to panic."

　Even though he said it casually, please don't talk about things with the common sense of the Demon King.
　In the first place, he is truly beyond insane when he can easily pull off something on such a large scale.
　
"Now, how will they move?"

　Demon King-sama, sitting on the throne, unleashed magic in the air.
　Then something is projected on the black magic pattern.

『Haaa!!』
『Ooooh!!』

　Something was colliding with something at incredible speed.
　Amidst the raging flames and gusts of wind, I can see someone moving, but as a non-combatant, I don't think I could possibly follow them with my eyes.

"Demon King-sama, what is this...?"
"It is a magic that projects in space with the view seen by the monster's eyes. Right now it is projecting the current battle of the First Corps Commander."

　The First Corps Commander is the strongest swordsman in the Demon King's army.
　Although I have not been able to follow the battle at all, I know that the battle is causing large-scale destruction of the environment.

"Kannagi is a troublesome presence. We had to send Nero over there and hold her down."
"Speaking of Kannagi, was she at those ruins...?"
"Yes, she is the hero's partner and the first Princess of Time. It is Kannagi's big sister who has retained her bloodline to this day."

　A beastfolk woman who has been putting the healing wizard ——— Usato in harm's way and suggesting suspicious plans to him at the ruins.
　Before I knew it, she had become one of their friends, but I never thought she was such an amazing presence.

"While Nero was holding back Kannagi, I used the scroll I created to teleport the heroes, but... it seems one of them escaped."

　When the Demon King-sama moved his hand to the side, the scene projected by the magic changed.
　The next thing that was projected was the image of a hero flying through the sky at high speed, firing a ball of light.

"Yeah, he's flying swiftly through the air... and what's more, he's dodging our attacks with ease..."

　The soldiers are desperately attacking the hero who is flying freely in the sky without riding the flying dragon, but they are not even grazing him.
　It's clearly faster and more maneuverable than the flying dragon...
　...Areh, could it be that the light I saw before the castle sank was an attack the hero was about to launch?

"Haa, don't make a face that looks like you're going to die any minute now. This is part of the plan."
"I-Is that so?"

　Demon King-sama, who looked stunned to see me fidgeting, leaned back against the back of his throne.

"Flying in the sky is nothing unusual. The role of the scrolls was to divide the heroes in the first place. Whether they fly in the sky or dive into the ground is a trivial matter."

　Demon King-sama, muttering this, puts his hand on his chin and gazes at the hero flying in the sky.

"He seems to be good at manipulating magic. He may even be better than his predecessor in mana manipulation and annihilation. ...Next."

　He moves his hand again and switches to a different scene.
　The next scene that was projected was of an arena where many demon soldiers had gathered.
　As I tilted my head, thinking it was just a scene of soldiers gathered together, suddenly something golden and shining crossed the scene that was being projected.
　Eh? What? What's that light?

"We lost this one."
"...Eh?"
"It seems we were able to catch her for just an instant... but she really is known as the Hero of Lightning. I'm surprised she left as soon as she was surrounded. Did she have another foresight wizard with her?"

　The soldiers inside the magic scene looked confused as they couldn't see the hero they were supposed to attack.

"But this is to be expected. If we narrow the passageway, have the troops positioned, and then activate the traps, we should be able to block the lightning hero's high-speed movement."
"The enemy has a foresight wizard, so traps are pointless...?"

　Demon King-sama himself said so earlier.

"Kannagi might be able to handle it, but there's no way a young foresight wizard could keep up with the speed of thought of someone who moves at the speed of lightning."
"I-Indeed..."

　Or rather, the hero who was moving at high speed was also doing something strange.
　All the humans who are fighting in this city right now are a bunch of monsters.
　Humans are scary.
　If a healing wizard, who is supposed to be a human and not a hero, is like that, I wonder if other humans are like that too...
　While I was thinking this and feeling fearful, the Demon King-sama switched to the next scene.
　The next thing that appeared on screen was a human woman holding a spear clad in cold air in the same arena-like setting as before.

"The hero of Mialak, huh?"

　A blonde woman who looks familiar to me from the ruins.
　She, who seems to be the oldest of the group of heroes, floats a blade made of ice around her and moves it in all directions, scattering the soldiers who are attacking her.

"She is the wielder of the armor of Falga, the divine dragon. Compared to the other two heroes, she is inferior in talent, but her skills and combat experience are superior. ...It would be troublesome if she was paired with the others."
"It's beautiful, isn't it? Ah! That... fighting style!"

　Mialak's hero, with her spear at the ready, fends off the demon soldiers who come at her one after another, and while dealing with them, she sends out a powerful cold air to halt their movements.
　Unlike the battle between the First Commander and Kannagi, the movement itself is not fast.
　She just seemed to make the most appropriate moves in each situation.

『Muh?』

　Suddenly, the hero of Mialak thrusts the tip of her spear into the ground, creating a large wall of ice.
　In the next instant, a glowing stake-like object slammed into the ice wall, shattering its surface.

"Hou, her judgment is quite impressive. She managed to block the magic weapon with ease... that's a versatile and useful magic."

　Looking in the direction from which the piles of light flew, I saw soldiers above the arena, who were concentrating their magic power into crossbow-type magic tools.
　With multiple crossbows lined up at her, the hero unfazedly readied her spear as if ready to throw it.
　Just as she was about to throw the spear at the crossbow ——— a pitch black rope-like thing grabbed hold of the large ice blocks lying around the hero, and they disappeared off-screen.

"Hmm?"

　Just now, it looked like the block of ice on the edge was being pulled away by something black...
　The Demon King-sama seemed to have noticed as well, tilting his head suspiciously.
　But then a voice from outside the screen ——— and I was able to guess who was trying to do what.

"If that one is a crossbow, this one is a human projectile! You're making a big mistake if you think you can attack one-sidedly from a distance! Hmph!"
『『Uwaaah?!』』
""...""

　With a voice that my head refuses to comprehend, I hear the sound of something crashing and breaking.
　Something extraordinary is happening outside of what is being shown on screen.
　The hero of Mialak, reflected in the magic, also has a drawn look on her face as she looks in one direction.

"...Fumu"

　Demon King-sama nodded once, waved his hand, and changed the image projected by the magic to something else.
　The next thing that was projected was———,

『———Uoooooh!!』

　Switching to the sight of something with their hands and wings outstretched and screaming in inhuman cries———immediately back to the scene of the Mialak's hero from earlier.
　I instinctively looked at the Demon King-sama, who was showing a confused look that he usually doesn't show.

"It appears we have projected the wrong scene."
"No... probably isn't wrong."
"...Really"

　When the view switches back to the original scene, there is Usato, a healing wizard, swinging his right arm widely in front of multiple piles of light from the crossbow.

『That level of attack is!! Mmmph!!』

　He hit the stake of light head-on, shattering it... into pieces? Then he pointed his black right arm, which had taken on a cannon-like shape, towards the crossbow.

『Healing Eight Shaku Bullets!!』

　A green magic bullet shot out at high speed.
　It hit one of the crossbows directly and blew up the crossbow and the soldiers around it, scattering a powerful shockwave and healing magic light.
　...What is healing?

『Next!! Nea, Ferrum! Let's go!!』

　As it is, he spreads his wings wide and leaps.
　He used his wings to glide while spewing(?) magic power from both arms, and plunged his right arm into the barrel of the crossbow that was about to launch a stake of light.

『Healing Flying Fist!!』

　The moment he shouts that, the barrel of the crossbow heaves as if it will burst from the inside.
　...What is healing?
　Usato pulled his fist out of the barrel.
　Behind him, I saw a soldier coming at him with his face contorted in fear.

『Uooooh!! For the sake of the demons!!』

　The soldier charges at Usato while releasing fire magic from both hands.
　Narrowing his eyes at the attack, he moved the wings on his back and without using his hands, grabbed both of the soldier's arms and lifted them up.

『Hiih.』
『Don't waste your life.』

　Usato spoke in a quiet voice that chilled the bottom of my heart.
　Although it was only a short time, having spent time with Usato, I have come to understand a little bit about him as a person.
　He protected both Kira, a demon, and me, who was supposed to be his enemy, so he must not be a bad person at heart.
　That was probably a warning to the soldier who had made the suicide charge, but———,

『———Kyuu』
『......』

　I am sure it sounds different to those who think he is the devil.
　Usato looked at the unconscious soldier with his eyes rolled up, with a complicated expression on his face, then after lowering the soldier to the ground, he turned his attention to the other soldiers who looked frightened.
　Then, he suddenly raised his right arm———,

『Bluuriiin! Comeeee!!』

　He roared and punched the ground, and a slimy shadow-like thing spread from his fist, and a blue bear-like magic beast ——— Blue Grizzly leaped out from it.

『Gruaa!!』
『Let's go!!』

　With his wings spread wide, Usato and the magic beast jumped towards the demons.

『It's B-Blue Grizzlyyyy!』
『T-The Devil is having a magic beast with him?』
『His familiar! It's the Devil's familiar!』

　The soldiers who had been through the carnage of the previous battle were crying out in fear.
　Uwaah, what a hellish scene...
　When I met him at the ruins, I thought he was just a normal human boy.

"Fumu, it looks like a devil has infiltrated the area. It's been a while since I've seen one."
"No, that's not it... Eh, do they really exist?"
"Just kidding"

　I am extremely curious as to which one is a joke.
　Does the devil really exist?
　Or was he joking when he said that the devil slipped in?

"He's an interesting human."
"Looking at him now, I am not even sure if he is human or not..."

　Even in his current form, he has wings growing out of his back, and to say the least, he doesn't look human.

"Koga and your report about assimilation with dark wizard. Never before has a dark wizard, whose abilities are altered by emotions, wished for emotions that lead to assimilation with humans."
"Even before ... you were sealed away?"
"Hmph, that was the time when humans and demons hated each other the most. To those who knew that era, that healing wizard fighting alongside other races would seem terribly unusual."

　Even now, humans and demons are fighting each other.
　Besides, dark wizards are feared even by their own kind, and it's rare for one to grow up to be as carefree as Koga-san.

"A healing wizard similar but different from him, huh. He's becoming more and more interesting."

　When the Demon King-sama saw Usato projected through magic, a faint smile appeared on his face.
　The battle against the heroes has only just begun.
　So far things seem to be going as the Demon King-sama planned, but I have no idea what will happen from here on out.

——— seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

Author's Notes:
This time only Usato's lines were heard, but in the audio commentary, you can clearly hear Ferrum and Nea screaming and looking shocked.